Natural Lawson

The offshoot of Lawson convenience stores called Natural Lawson is probably the best convenience store for vegans. Although a few products from Natural Lawson can be found in regular Lawson stores, it’s worth it to go to Natural Lawson if there are any near you. Natural Lawson stores are currently located in the following areas: Chiba Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Tokyo. Not all products below can be found at all stores.

Let’s begin with something that could be used to cook a meal. Harkis makes a vegetable protein from broad beans. This article from Sitra.fi details the product in English. The Japanese product page is here. These products are also available online at Rakuten and have also been seen at some regular supermarkets such as Daiei and Life.

The Japanese product page recommends stir-frying the product or adding it to a salad. All three products are gluten-free.

There are also recipe ideas using this product on the Harkis Instagram page, although they are not all vegan.

Limited edition product. Uses only potatoes from Hokkaido. Potatoes are individually checked and in some cases, hand-cut with a knife to make sure there are no green parts inside. No chemical seasoning is used.

Manufactured in the same factory as items containing wheat, egg, dairy, shrimp, and crab.

These sweet potato chips are available at Lawson and Natural Lawson. They use “annou imo,” a special type of potato with a high sugar content and orange-hued flesh, which is grown on Tanegashima, an island located to the south of Kyushu.

Uses organic coconut oil. Does not use chemical seasoning, emulsifier, or white sugar. Does not taste of coconut oil, so even those who aren’t coconut fans can enjoy this product. Meant to have a curry-like taste and stimulate the appetite, thus helping to increase vegetable intake. Does not freeze even if stored in the refrigerator.

APPLESAUCE

• Brown Sugar 1st. Organic Applesauce. Ingredients: Organic apples.

CURRY

Made by the same company in charge of the Chaya Macrobiotics restaurants and offering a variety of products, including soy keema, bean and vegetable curries.

Approximately 11 grams of soy protein, 43 mg of soy isoflavones, and under 7 grams of sugar.

Manufactured in a facility that also makes products including egg, dairy, and wheat.

ay have cross-contamination from ingredients including egg, dairy products, and squid.“Animal ingredients/margarine/shortening/wheat/sugar/preservatives/artificial sweeteners/colorings/flavorings not used” written in Japanese on the package.

Manufactured in the same factory as products containing dairy, eggs, peanuts, and shrimp.

Slim Bite bars are marked as having no genetically modified ingredients, no milk, no sugar, no sweeteners, (except for a small amount in the chocolate in the mint chocolate version), gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan in Japanese on the display. Flavors are mint chocolate, coconut, raspberry, and orange.

Uses kuromitsu and kokuto. Contains 8.9 grams of carbohydrates and 2.9 g of dietary fiber in one bag.

Processed in the same facilities as products containing peanuts, wheat, dairy, and shrimp.

CHOCOLATE

People Tree, the fair-trade company, makes a line of chocolates marked “vegie.” The Japanese warning on the package saying “contains dairy as part of ingredients” has been confirmed, in this case, to be a cross-contamination warning meaning these chocolates are processed on the same line as items containing dairy. Small particles of dairy may be present in these chocolates as a result.

Some branches will have Vivani chocolates marked in English as vegan on the package. The Japanese warning that makes it look like they have dairy on the back means, in this case, that small particles of dairy may be present due to processing, not that dairy was used as an ingredient. Here are some of the flavours you might find at Natural Lawson.

From Vivani’s website: “Dark Chocolate with Sour Cherry Crisp. Sour, fruity, aromatic. Delicate juicy but crunchy pieces of sour cherry find a perfect contrast in the intensive South American organic cocoa. A duet that appeals to all senses.”

From the Vivani website: “Crunchy vegan “milk chocolate” bar with rice drink instead of milk, refined with brittle cornflakes. Not just for vegans! 5 Cent Logo for Haiti
As part of the VIVANI ‘KIDS for KIDS’ campaign against child labour, 5 cents per bar are donated to the Ecole Amitié (‘School of Friendship’) in Haiti. This provides street children access to education, food and hygiene.”

Marked vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free, and non-dairy on the package in English.

NON-DAIRY MILKS AND COFFEES

Individual Natural Lawson branches may have a great deal of non-dairy milk or not much. Here are some of the products you might see. Products may contain ingredients that are not confirmed vegan such as flavorings and emulsifiers. Check our Dairy Alternatives page for more detailed information.

Processed at 137 degrees for several seconds to preserve as much nutrition as possible and keep the beverage fresh. Sweetened with organic coconut nectar produced locally and sustainably in Thailand to help revitalize farming communities.

The Pistachio Milk is also currently available on Amazon Japan in a 1L size.

When asked if their flavouring and emulsifier were animal or vegetable derived and if their sugar was bone-char processed, they responded that they don’t use any animal products in the raw materials of this product.

Lawson/Natural Lawson has an item called the Soy Protein Latte that looks like it might be vegan from the ingredient list, but customer service stated that that the emulsifier in the Soy Protein Latte contains glycerin fatty esters from pig fat, 乳化剤に含まれる動物由来の原料は「グリセリン脂肪酸エステル」で豚脂を使って作られております. They stated that due to the manufacturing process, it isn’t required to label it as an allergen, as the allergenic substances are removed in the process. In addition, the sugar in the process is whitened with animal bone char (although it does not remain in the finished product). There are no other animal products in this product.

This soy protein latte coffee beverage with Natural Lawson branding is advertised as high in protein and low in fat. The front of the package states it contains 10 grams of soy protein. It also contains 8.2 grams of sugar.